Bill Text: CA AB1899 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Residential care facilities for the elderly.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2014-09-28 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 700, Statutes of 2014. [AB1899 Detail]

Download: California-2013-AB1899-Introduced.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 1899	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Brown

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2014

   An act to amend Section 1520 of, and to add Section 1538.4 to, the
Health and Safety Code, relating to residential care facilities.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1899, as introduced, Brown. Residential care facilities for the
elderly: quality of care.
   Existing law, the California Residential Care Facilities for the
Elderly Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of residential
care facilities for the elderly by the State Department of Social
Services. A violation of these provisions is punishable as a
misdemeanor.
   Existing law sets forth the qualifications of a licensee.
   This bill would make a person who has had his or her previous
license revoked for abandonment of the facility ineligible for
licensure for a period of 10 years following the revocation. Because
a violation of this provision could be a crime, the bill would impose
a state-mandated local program.
   This bill would require the Director of Social Services to
establish and maintain a telephone hotline and an Internet Web site
dedicated for the purpose of receiving complaints regarding community
care facilities. The bill would require the Internet Web site to
include a listing, available to the public, of all final actions
resulting in citation, suspension, or revocation taken against each
licensee.
   The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 1520 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
   1520.  Any person desiring issuance of a license for a community
care facility or a special permit for specialized services under this
chapter shall file with the department, pursuant to regulations, an
application on forms furnished by the department, which shall
include, but not be limited to:
   (a)  Evidence satisfactory to the department of the ability of the
applicant to comply with this chapter and of rules and regulations
promulgated under this chapter by the department.
   (b)  Evidence satisfactory to the department that the applicant is
of reputable and responsible character. The evidence shall include,
but not be limited to, a criminal record clearance pursuant to
Section 1522, employment history, and character references. If the
applicant is a firm, association, organization, partnership, business
trust, corporation, or company, like evidence shall be submitted as
to the members or shareholders thereof, and the person in charge of
the community care facility for which application for issuance of
license or special permit is made.
   (c)  Evidence satisfactory to the department that the applicant
has sufficient financial resources to maintain the standards of
service required by regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter.
   (d)  Disclosure of the applicant's prior or present service as an
administrator, general partner, corporate officer, or director of, or
as a person who has held or holds a beneficial ownership of 10
percent or more in, any community care facility or in any facility
licensed pursuant to Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1200) or
Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 1250).
   (e)  Disclosure of any revocation or other disciplinary action
taken, or in the process of being taken, against a license held or
previously held by the entities specified in subdivision (d).  A
person who has had his or her previous license revoked for
abandonment of the facility shall be ineligible for licensure for a
period of 10 years following the revocation. 
   (f)  A signed statement that the person desiring issuance of a
license or special permit has read and understood the community care
facility licensure statute and regulations that pertain to the
applicant's category of licensure.
   (g)  Any other information that may be required by the department
for the proper administration and enforcement of this chapter.
   (h)  In implementing this section, the department shall give due
consideration to the functions of each separate licensing category.
   (i)  Failure of the applicant to cooperate with the licensing
agency in the completion of the application shall result in the
denial of the application. Failure to cooperate means that the
information described in this section and in regulations of the
department has not been provided, or not provided in the form
requested by the licensing agency, or both.
  SEC. 2.  Section 1538.4 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
   1538.4.  (a) The director shall establish and maintain a telephone
hotline and an Internet Web site dedicated for the purpose of
receiving complaints from members of the public regarding community
care facilities.
   (b) The Internet Web site shall also include a listing, available
to the public, of all final actions resulting in citation,
suspension, or revocation taken against each licensee, aggregated
both by the licensee's name and by the facility's name. The actions
shall be listed in a manner that protects the privacy of the
residents and the confidentiality of resident information.
  SEC. 3.  No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.